Question

A hummingbird’s nest is 6 meters high in a tree. A flower is on the ground 14 meters away from the base of the tree. How far will the hummingbird need to fly to get from its nest to the flower if it takes a direct path?

Answer 1

15.23 m

Explanation:

The problem given describes the shape of a right angled triangle.

From the diagram below:

The height of the tree is the opposite = 6 m

The distance of the flower from the base of the tree = adjacent = 14 m

The distance the bird must fly to get from the nest to the flower = hypotenuse = h

According to Pythagoras rule:

`hyp^2 = opp^2 + adj^2`

Therefore:

`h^2 = 6^2 + 14^2\\\\h^2 = 36 + 196\\\\h^2 = 232\\\\h = √(232) \\\\h = 15.23 m`

The bird will have to fly 15.23 m to get from its nest to the flower in a direct path.